Baked Apple Cider Donuts with Spiced Cider Glaze
Welcoming in this chilly Fall weekend with these Baked Apple Cider Donuts. Made with a handful of pantry staples, fresh apple cider, brown sugar, and a dash of apple pie spice. Then, after baking, these sweet donuts are dipped in an apple cider glaze flavored with delicious spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. Bonus? These sweet (and cute!) apple cider donuts are easy to make, ready in less than an hour, and a serious crowd-pleaser! There’s nothing not to love about these spiced donuts. Truly the perfect way to celebrate the best of the apple season!
I think we all have fond memories of those buttery, tender, fluffy donuts from a local bakery or donut shop – or at least, I do!
So, what could be better than making some at home?!
And, if you’ve ever made our Cinnamon Spiced Donuts, Banana Nut Donuts, or Chocolate Donuts, you know that we LOVE sharing easy-to-make, bakery-style, cake donuts. These Apple Cider Donuts are no exception! They taste like they’re straight from the best bakery, if not a little better, with minimal effort and prep time.
Cake Donut vs Yeast Donut…What’s The Difference?
While they share the same name, cake and yeast donuts are actually vastly different! So, let’s get into it.
A cake donut (also known as a baked donut) is made from flour, eggs, butter, sugar, milk, and baking powder or baking soda. This creates a cake-like batter that is spooned into molds and baked to golden perfection. A cake donut is buttery, tender, and more cake-like than its rival.
A yeast donut is made from similar ingredients, but relies on yeast to act as the leavening. Instead of a cake batter, you have an enriched dough that is rolled, cut, and fried in oil to create the classic treat. Our Glazed Vanilla Doughnuts are the perfect example!
Why We Love These Apple Cider Donuts (& You Will Too!)
- Easy to make! That’s right. These donuts are super simple to make, require only three bowls to mix up, and are made with Fall staples.
- No waiting around on yeast to rise. This recipe is leavened by baking powder. Which means, you can have these moist and delicious donuts in less than an hour!
- Every bite is filled with buttery apple and warming spices.
- The texture of these donuts is melt-in-your-mouth delicious. They are tender, dense, moist, and like a cross between a cake and a muffin. SO. GOOD.
- A serious crowd pleaser. I mean, who doesn’t like apples and cinnamon?!
Ingredients To Make The Best Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Full ingredient amounts and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
For The Donuts:
- All-Purpose Flour – has just the right amount of protein for these donuts. It adds strength to the dough by absorbing moisture and forming gluten.
- Apple Pie Spice – adds a warming spice to every bite, while intensifying the apple flavor.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda – Leavening is essential in baking. The combination of baking powder and baking soda provides the perfect rise in these donuts to give them a light, tender, delicious texture.
- Salt – enhances the flavor.
- Unsalted Butter – adds fat, flavor, and moisture to help create the texture of these donuts.
- Granulated Sugar & Brown Sugar – keep baked goods soft and moist and help promote browning.
- Large Eggs – are a binder that help create the ultimate structure, texture, and flavor in these donuts.
- Vanilla Extract – enhances the flavor.
- Apple Cider – creates an intense apple flavor while also acting as the liquid component in these donuts.
For The Glaze:
- Powdered Sugar – melts easily, ensuring the perfect texture for this glaze.
- Apple Pie Spice – adds a hint of spice to compliment the donuts.
- Apple Cider – brings the perfect amount of apple flavor to these donuts!
How To Make Baked Apple Cider Donuts (Step-by-Step!)
Step 1: Prepare batter
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add flour mixture alternately with apple cider, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
Stir in vanilla.
Step 2: Bake
Spoon batter into piping bag.
Pipe batter into each cavity, about halfway full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until done.
Step 3: Make glaze
In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, spice, and cider. Whisk until smooth.
Step 4: Dip
Dip cooled donuts into glaze to cover top. Set aside to dry.
FAQ’s and Troubleshooting
If your batter is lumpy, it may be the flour did not get fully incorporated. Be sure to follow the directions in the recipe card to ensure the perfect donuts.
If your donuts turned out to be dry, this is caused by over-mixing or over-baking. Always bake the least amount of time stated in a recipe, then check to see if it needs longer. You can also check your oven temperature to make sure it’s not running too hot.
Similar to dryness, a tough/rubbery cake donut is usually caused by over-mixing the batter. Be sure to mix until everything is just combined! Any more and you may risk overdeveloping the gluten, which is what causes these donuts to be tough and rubbery.
If your donuts didn’t rise, this could be two things. Either the batter was over-mixed or your leavening is out of date. Be sure to check expiration dates on your baking powder and baking soda before baking!
If the donuts are stuck, this could be caused by a couple of things. They may simply be too hot/warm to turn out or the pan wasn’t thoroughly brushed with oil. They may tear slightly if they are genuinely stuck, but they will still taste delicious!
If you notice bubbles on your glazed donuts, this is because there were bubbles in your icing! If you dip donuts in an icing that has bubbles on the surface, then the icing will dry with bubbles.
Looking for more classic Christmas desserts? Here are a few you may like:
Baked Apple Cider Donuts with Spiced Cider Glaze
Ingredients
Donuts
- 2 cups all purpose flour*
- 1 Tablespoon apple pie spice
- 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅔ teaspoon salt
- 7 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 7 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅞ cup apple cider
Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
- 7 Tablespoons apple cider
Instructions
Donuts
- Heat oven to 350℉.
- Brush 2 silicone donut molds with vegetable oil. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add flour mixture alternately with apple cider, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
- Stir in vanilla.
- Place prepared molds on sheet pan.
- Spoon batter into piping bag.
- Cut off end.
- Fill each cavity ½ full.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until done.
Glaze
- In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, spice, and cider.
- Whisk until smooth.
Assembly
- Dip cooled donuts into glaze to cover top.
- Set on cooling rack to dry.
Notes + Tips!
- These donuts can easily be made dairy-free or vegan! Substitute plant based butter for regular butter and use your favorite vegan egg substitute (we like aquafaba) for the eggs.
- If you don’t have apple pie spice, cinnamon also works beautifully in these donuts.
- If desired, these donuts can be made gluten-free by using your favorite Measure-for-Measure Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour.
- Be sure to check the expiration date on your baking powder before baking.
- Your eggs, butter, and cider need to be room temperature!
- Be careful to not over-mix the batter.
- If you aren’t sure if the donuts are baked, use a cake tester or toothpick to see if they are baked. If they come out clean, the donuts are baked!
- Let the donuts cool completely before glazing them.
- No donut pan? Make donut muffins instead! Use a standard 12 cup muffin pan and fill each cavity about ¾ full. You will need to adjust baking times. It should make 8-10 donut muffins.
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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